


Coup de Foudre

by never_love_a_wild_thing



Series: Thiam Half Birthday 2018 [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: But it's Translated, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, French Canadian Theo, French dialogue, M/M, Native American Theo, Slow Burn, Theo Doesn't Speak English, Theo Has a Different Backstory, Theo Speaks French
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 12:41:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14954891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/never_love_a_wild_thing/pseuds/never_love_a_wild_thing
Summary: When Theo Raeken is the only member of his pack left standing, he goes to find the True Alpha that everyone had always talked about. Scott McCall's pack is not what he expected: they are against violence and Scott listens to what the other members of his pack have to say. Most importantly, almost none of them speak Theo's language.Liam Dunbar is trying to prove himself to his alpha. When the pack takes in a rogue werewolf with dubious morals, he decides that this is his chance.Meanwhile, the Nemeton is drawing more and more dangerous creatures to Beacon Hills every day, and the pack is trying to find a way to shut it down before the town is overrun with the supernatural. An unadvisable plan may just answer, but when the consequences are more than Liam and his friends had realized, Theo might be the only one who can save him.Takes place after Season 4For Thiam Half Birthday 2018: Them With A Twist





	Coup de Foudre

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LovelyLittleGrim](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyLittleGrim/gifts).



> I'll start off by saying that this is (to me, at least) not a normal fic. There will probably be plenty of French dialogue (please excuse any mistakes there or feel free to point them out to me (although some are somewhat on purpose as not all of the characters speaking it are totally fluent), as French is not my first language) and while everything in Theo's sections will be translated, Liam's probably won't be, at least at first (because he doesn't understand French and you're getting it from his POV. So far none of it is very important, but you can feel free to look it up if you want to). Eventually, Theo will learn English (Liam trying to teach Theo English, anyone? It's gonna be cute, I'm excited :D ) and Liam will pick up some French but unfortunately it might be kind of slow going at first.  
> I also just want to point out that I'm kind of taking a chance and trying something new with this fic, so I would appreciate if we could keep the comments and any constructive criticism on the positive side of things (not that I think the Thiam fandom really has a problem with that, y'all are wonderful!). On that same note, if you have any feedback about the format of the translations (ie where they go in the text), I'm open to suggestions on that in particular :)  
> I guess, in short, please be patient and give it a try, you might find you like it :)  
> Also! Amanda, I know I said I was going to do the possessed!Liam fic, but this kind of took on a life of it's own, so I'm considering writing it normally in canon too if you'd prefer that :) (sorry, all of my planning seriously ran away with me! It will get there eventually, it just might take a while!)  
> Anyways, thanks for giving it a try! I hope you like it!

Theo runs through the woods in wolf form. He made it all the way across Canada from Quebec to British Colombia, and then across the border into America, through Washington and Oregon, working his way down the state of California. He has one destination in mind: Beacon Hills.

The trees are bigger here, they grow closer together, and Theo is having an easier time finding small animals to eat along the way. He’s pretty sure he scared a few people hiking through the woods farther north, but it hardly matters. Near something like a True Alpha, he’s sure he’s not the first wolf that these people have seen.

He scents the air, fresh with summer sun and the smells of the forest. It’s different from the way the trees smelled in Quebec, but promising. The earth is softer here too, and it almost makes him feel that the trip is worth it for the beauty and comfort of the place alone.

Something rustles to his left and Theo perks his ears up, listening through the whispering of the leaves and the chattering of the birds in the trees. The scent is not familiar, but very few of the scents here are. He raises his hackles and creeps forward. A bitter smell hits his nose and he pulls his lips back in a silent snarl, creeping with purpose now.

There’s a sudden movement and Theo leaps, claws sinking into the flesh of his victim. His pack had always believed that it was better to attack a predator before they could attack you. But his victim is squirming now and yelling the one name that Theo had forced himself to memorize.

“Scott!”

Theo retracts his claws, shifting back into his human form and letting his eyes glow blue as he waits for the Alpha who is surely the one crashing through the trees to the south of Theo and his victim. He spares a glance for the boy on the ground – probably close to Theo’s own age – who is bleeding but looking more like he’s ready to fight Theo than pass out. _Interesting_ , Theo thinks, _he’s not even a wolf_.

Another boy, about the same age, comes crashing through the sun-dappled trees. He has dark hair and a crooked jaw with an expression somewhere between worried and fiercely determined. It’s a good look on an alpha, Theo decides, even without the red eyes. He turns his own blue ones on the alpha, facing him fully, noticing the tattoo peeking out from below the sleeve of the white t-shirt decorated in stray leaves and bristles. _Yes_ , he realizes, _this is the True Alpha_.

Scott McCall spares only a glance at him before making sure the other boy is alright. He helps him to his feet and looks at the places where Theo had stuck his claws in him. This isn’t the best tactic, from what Theo can tell. In his pack, the alpha would have gone after whatever had injured the packmate before going back to make sure they were alright.

Scott says something to the other boy and – shit. Theo should have known. English. He had never bothered to learn it, but now that he thinks of it, it might have been a good idea before coming all the way to California.

The other boy responds in English as well and seems to be pointing Scott’s attention to Theo. Theo takes a step forwards and Scott puts himself in front of the other boy, finally glowing his eyes red.

Theo turns his hands palms backwards at his sides and smiles with his teeth, showing a lack of claws and fangs, as he has been trained to do, but Scott just looks confused.

“Je m’appelle Theo Raeken,” (My name is Theo Raeken) he tries, wondering if there’s the slightest chance that one of them speaks French. Probably not. “Hello,” he adds, trying to think of any other English words he knows. There aren’t many.

The two boys stare at Theo and then at each other before speaking in English again. It’s a lot more frustrating than Theo thought it would be. His pack had always talked about the True Alpha in Beacon Hills, California. They’d never said he wouldn’t speak French. Theo wasn’t even going to bother trying Abenaki.

Scott gestures warily at Theo to follow him, and they trudge through the woods in silence, eventually coming to a sunlit dirt road with a bright blue Jeep that looked about as ancient as his family’s territory back in Quebec parked half on the grass to one side. Scott and his friend approach the car, seeming to argue about something for a minute before the boy that Theo had attacked fishes a set of keys out of his pocket and tosses them to Scott, who climbs into the driver’s side. The other boy goes to the back of the car, rummaging through it before pulling out a bundle of something soft and grey and throwing it at Theo. He shakes it out, finding that it’s a pair of sweatpants, a little long for Theo, but probably manageable, and remembers that he’s been naked this whole time. He pulls them on as the boy closes the trunk of the car and goes around to the passenger side, pointing at the door to the backseat and saying something to Theo, still in English, before climbing inside. Theo shrugs to himself and climbs into the back seat.

Scott drives them to a low building that seems, when they walk inside, to be a veterinary clinic. There is a man, probably old enough to be any of their fathers, who turns to Scott when they walk in and starts talking to him, as he goes about attending to the gashes that Theo had left on the other boy’s torso, eyes flickering back to Theo every few seconds. A couple of minutes later, a pretty redheaded girl breezes in, looking annoyed. She speaks to the other people in the room first, and then turns to Theo, who is leaning against the counter, arms crossed over his chest with an amused smirk. It’s clear that they don’t know what to do with him.

“Parlez-vous français?” (Do you speak French?), she asks with an American accent.

“Oui. Je m’appelle Theo Raeken,” he says, pushing off of the counter to stand tall, “Je cherche le True Alpha.” His eyes flicker over to Scott. “Ça c’est Scott McCall, n’est pas?”                                                                                                                                               (Yeah. My name’s Theo Raeken. I’m looking for the True Alpha. That’s Scott McCall, right?)

The girl looks back at the two boys behind her and says something else. Translating.

“Ils veulent savoir pourquoi vous cherchez le True Alpha," she narrows her eyes at him, "Moi, je veux savoir qui êtes-vous et d’où vous venez." (They want to know why you’re looking for the True Alpha. _I_ want to know who you are and where you came from.)

Theo likes her instantly. She’s on her guard, beautifully fierce in an understated way. She’s not a wolf, but she’s maybe not a normal human either.

“Ma meute est morte. Ils sont tous mort sauf moi. Je cherche une nouvelle meute. C’est tout," he tells her, "Et pour moi, je viens de Québec." (My pack is dead – all of them except for me – so I’m looking for a new one. That’s all. And I’m from Quebec.)

"Quebec?" One of the boys asks, stepping towards him, continuing on with a question that ends with “Quebec”.

Theo gives up on trying to catch familiar words in their sentences and watches the way that they interact, trying to learn what he can about what will potentially be his new pack. Scott is easy with his movements. He’s the undisputed leader, even though he listens to what everyone has to say. He seems, though, to be less aggressive and more reasonable than most alphas that Theo has encountered (which, granted, isn’t many). He looks to the older man for guidance, they all do, but the man is waiting for them to make their own decisions. Also unusual, even coming from a human. The other boy is all movement, directionless but vibrant, giving advice, seemingly, without shame. Even the girl, quieter both in voice and in movement than the boy, seems to be guiding Scott. He’s the leader, but he doesn’t have the only say. He seems, strangely enough, to be working _with_ his pack mates.

Scott turns to him after a while and says something. Theo raises his eyebrows, indicating that Scott should know by now that Theo doesn’t understand a word he says, but then Lydia is stepping forward again.

“Tu veux etre dans cette meute?" (Do you want to be a part of this pack?) she asks, crossing her arms as she stares at him, eyes assessing in a bored way.

“Je pensais que ça c’était clair," (I thought that that was obvious) he smirks, folding his arms across his chest, copying her stance.                       

“Nous ne vous faisons pas confiance," (We don’t trust you.) she tells him flatly.                                                                                   

"Ça c’est la première chose intelligente que vous avez dit," he replies, "Que pense votre alpha?"                                                   (That’s the first smart thing you’ve said. What does your alpha think?)

 She turns to translate for the others in the room. Theo pulls his arms tighter across his body, noticing how the coolness of the airconditioned air pricks at his bare skin. He hadn’t been expecting to be welcomed with open arms but meeting the whole pack or at least someone who can make a decision would be nice.

They talk for longer this time, and Theo starts to get bored. He’s not sure what he expected. Maybe to have to fight a member of the pack or charm his way in, but the McCall pack doesn’t seem keen to test his strength and he’s not sure how charming he can actually be when only one of them seems to be able to understand anything he says. He starts to examine the bottles of herbs and things lined up on the shelf, inspecting the contents and the strange markings with a careful eye before he connects the dots. He turns and looks at the older man.

“Qui êtes-vous?” (Who are you ?) he demands.                                                                                                                                    

The man looks at him calmly. “Je m’appelle Alan Deaton. Je suis vétérinaire, » (My name is Alan Deaton. I am a veterinarian.) he explains simply, as if that explains the bottles of mountain ash, mistletoe, wolfsbane, and all kinds of other things that could kill Theo.

“Et quoi d’autre?” (And what else?) Theo insists, narrowing his eyes. Scott rounds the examination table to come between Theo and Deaton, evidently unaware as to what they are saying, but with the protective expression firmly in place nonetheless.

Dr. Deaton waves Scott away gently without a word, and the alpha goes, making Theo even more uneasy. It was becoming very clear to him that this pack is not what he had been expecting.

“Il est druide,” the redheaded girl tells him, “Mais le bon genre.”                                                                                                               (He is a druid. But the good kind.)

Theo nods and backs off for now. “Alors,” he starts again, “Est-ce que vous m'acceptez dans la meute?” (So? Am I in the pack?) He looks from the girl to Scott to Dr. Deaton back to Scott.

Again, Scott speaks, looking very serious, and the girl translates.

“Nous allons vous aider si c’est possible," she tells him, glancing at Scott as she does, like she isn’t entirely convinced it’s a good idea, “Mais si vous voulez être dans la meute, il faut nous montrer que nous pouvons vous faire confiance. Il faut nous montrer que vous appartenez." (We will help you as much as we can, but if you want to be in the pack, you have to show us that we can trust you and that you belong.)

“Tu as quelque place à rester cette nuit?" (Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?) Dr. Deaton asks kindly.                                                                  

Theo shrugs. “Le bois?” (The woods?) he had been planning on shifting if he couldn’t find a place to sleep. He had been travelling as a wolf for long enough anyways.

The others begin to discuss in English again, and Theo leans back against the counter once more. After a few minutes, Scott pulls his cellphone out of his pocket and leaves the room dialing a phone number.

“Nous te garderons avec un membre de la meute," the girl tells him after a bit more discussion with the other boy, “Alors il peut te surveiller.” (We are going to have you stay with a member of the pack so that he can watch you.)

Theo raises his eyebrows. It’s generous from a pack that trusts him as little as this one does, but he won’t argue. At the very least, it’s an in.

 

*

 

Liam’s still mad that he missed it. If Scott and Stiles _told_ him that they were going looking for that whatever-it-was in the woods, then Liam definitely would have gone with them. Instead, he’s stuck mowing the lawn. His mom has been more understanding about Liam being a werewolf than he ever could have hoped. His step-dad too. But he’s getting the feeling that all of these chores that are suddenly piling up have something to do with the whole “sneaking out to save Beacon Hills” thing.

So instead of being at the animal clinic with Scott and Stiles and Lydia, figuring out what to do with the rogue werewolf with blue eyes and no English, he’s sweating like a pig, neon grass staining the bottom of his shoes as his hair sticks to his forehead. It’s a rough deal. The only comfort he has comes in the fact that he’s at least convinced his parents to house the new werewolf for a little while. This way, it will be impossible to keep Liam out of the loop.

The cost of housing another person for an indefinite amount of time is too much for most of the rest of the pack, and now that Liam’s parents are in the know, his house seems to be the best choice. He knows that Scott doesn’t love the idea. He would probably rather keep the new werewolf close to him where he can personally keep an eye on him or far away from everyone where he can do only minimal damage, but there just aren’t a lot of options.

Liam turns off the mower and carts it back into the garage. Maybe he can talk his step-dad into making tacos for dinner since they have a guest. He makes the best tacos.

“MOM!” Liam yells as he walks into the house, letting the door to the garage bang closed behind him, “I’M TAKING A SHOWER! DAD’S MAKING TACOS FOR DINNER, RIGHT?” He doesn’t wait for her to answer before he goes upstairs. It doesn’t matter if she heard him as long as the message gets passed along to his step-dad. He may be slightly scared of his wife, but he can also usually sweet-talk her into anything.

He strips out of his sweaty clothes in the bathroom and turns on the shower, not waiting for the water to turn hot before he jumps in. It’s a little bit of a shock to his system, but the cold water is refreshing on his overheated skin. He’s just wondering whether he has enough energy to wash his hair or if he can leave that for next time when he hears the doorbell ring downstairs. It’s a little hard to hear over the water that’s pouring down on his head, but he strains his ears and hears his mom answer the door.

 _“Hi Scott. Is this my new house guest?”_ He can hear her smiling. Scott shifts weight between his feet, but the owner of the third heartbeat is still and silent.

Liam turns off the water abruptly, realizing that he’s already missing even more of the action and grabs a towel, starting to dry himself off haphazardly while he listens.

 _“Thank you so much for doing this, Mrs. Geyer,”_ Scott says downstairs, _“I know it’s a lot to ask. This is Theo, though. Theo Raeken. He, uh, doesn’t really speak English.”_

A voice that Liam doesn’t recognize but figures must belong to this Theo Raeken guy says something in a different language. French, Liam remembers. He shivers and tells himself that it’s from the cold and not from how sexy that voice is, forming those unrecognizable words. _He attacked Stiles,_ Liam reminds himself, _he has blue eyes. Probably he’s not even hot anyways._ Maybe he should take another cold shower.

 _“Why don’t you come inside?”_ Liam’s mom says, _“David’s making tacos for dinner if you’d like to stay.”_

Liam spares a second to internally celebrate his victory over dinner, and then dashes across the hall to his room to throw some clothes on.

 _“That’s okay, I’m taking my mom dinner at the hospital, so I need to get going, but I should talk to Liam first. He’s upstairs, right?”_ Scott replies.

Liam looks around his room in a moment of panic. It’s horribly messy, his school supplies still scattered around from where he had tossed them after the last day of school, clothes either in his hamper or in piles on the floor, but almost none of them where they’re supposed to be. He hasn’t even thought about making his bed in weeks. There isn’t much that he can do about it though, with two sets of footsteps coming up the stairs as he dives for the first clean pair of underwear that he sees.

“Really, Liam?” Scott asks from the doorway as Liam pulls a pair of pants out of the pile of clean clothes threatening to spill over on his desk chair. He looks up, feeling his face flush pink as he catches sight of the guy standing behind Scott. He is _hella fine_ and Liam is standing there in his underwear, surrounded by what looks like a natural disaster that’s been confined to his bedroom. Maybe it’s a good thing he doesn’t speak English.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were coming straight here from the animal clinic,” Liam huffs, pulling his pants on as fast as he can without falling over. It’s still not very graceful.

“It’s okay,” Scott sighs, “Anyways, Liam, this is Theo Raken. Theo,” he points at Liam, “Liam Dunbar.”

Theo looks between them, green-grey-blue eyes sparkling. Liam thinks that he doesn’t understand English but he can figure out what’s going on pretty easily anyways.

“Scott McCall,” he says, pointing at Scott, French accent thick as it forms the familiar name. “Liam Dunbar.” He points at Liam and Liam and Scott nod. “Alpha,” he points at Scott again. “Beta,” he points to Liam.

“Yeah!” Scott’s face lights up, “You’ve got it!”

Theo mutters something in French and Liam gets the feeling that it’s not particularly flattering towards either of them.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Scott asks Liam again. His eyebrows knit together in concern.

“Yeah,” Liam says quickly. He pulls on his t-shirt and follows them back out into the hall. “I told you, I can handle it.”

“Okay,” Scott still doesn’t seem convinced, “But let me know when you need help. Seriously. Even if it’s something little, okay?”

Liam nods to appease Scott, and they go back downstairs. “Hey,” he says suddenly, “You don’t know how long this is going to be for, do you?”

Scott grimaces and shrugs. “We’re still not really sure what he wants or if we can trust him at all,” he tells Liam, who tries not to get distracted by how Theo’s eyes flicker back and forth between them like he’s following their conversation.

Scott says goodbye to Liam’s parents and before he has even thought about what would happen when Scott is gone, he’s left to set the table with his parents and a rogue werewolf that doesn’t speak a word of English.

“Allons-y, Petit Loup,” Theo tells him without hesitation, already moving into the kitchen, like Liam can understand him, “On mange des tacos.”

It feels a little condescending, which is funny because Liam’s surprised that he could even pick the word “tacos” out from a sentence. He shrugs. If Theo’s going to talk to him in French, then Liam will just talk back to him in English. And hey, maybe he’ll pick up some more words. His mom keeps saying that he should try harder in Spanish class, anyways.

“Sure,” he says, rolling his eyes as he follows behind Theo. “Let’s go eat some tacos.”

Theo looks back at him with a smirk and Liam suddenly has the feeling that he’s missing something.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks Karina and Sofia for looking over the beginning of this chapter for me and letting me know that I haven't gone completely insane yet! :D
> 
> And thanks Manon for editing my French for me! :D


End file.
